What is: Lightning Rod - Dollywood

What type of roller coaster is Lightning Rod at Dollywood, in Tennessee, USA? This video answers that question.

MERCHANDISE:

SOCIAL MEDIA:

CREDITS:
Music: Tobaggan by Silent Partner
Research: Dialga305

VIDEOS:

[CoasterStudios]

I'm going again on Tuesday. I don't think it'll be open. :(

[elaucom]

I legit thought the footage was sped-up. That thing looks gnarly!!!

[kymonkeyboy]

What is Lighting Rod?



Broken

[MasterRedwing]

I got an idea for an new series 'What was:...' and i already have a coaster you can do 'Son of beast' which WAS at King's Island, but is now gone.

[chrisbender]

I was lucky enough to ride this 3x (all night rides) at the beginning of November 2017. Was my first RMC and now I'm addicted to them. I thought I was going to die during the launch and the quad down. So much ejector airtime. Only have 30some coasters in my riding bank but of course can't get enough. Love the channel. Keep it up! :)

[polartndra]

This coaster is absolutely amazing, I got to ride in march at night ( at night because it rolled back and closed for 30 ) in the back row, amazing.

[fishels]

You have the perfect voice to give out facts and statistics. Love your videos dude.

[bellee]

i live about an hour away from dollywood and have yet to ever go when it’s open. my mom, also an avid roller coaster fan, said she doesn’t trust it and wouldn’t want to ride it because of how often it’s down but i really want to ride it at least once since i’ve ridden every other ride there and love them all

[jacobbob]

I love your videos so much! They seem very professional, and you have a great speaking voice. Please keep up the high quality content!

[aly]

What is: Lightning Rod - Dollywood


















Closed

[wulfbuoygarwalfey]

got about 5 rides on it today, no downtime! the night ride is insane

[kenepou]

Are there going to be more RMCs in the Cedar Fair chain after the announcement of RMC Mean Streak for Cedar Point and RMC Hurler for Kings Dominion?

[toomuchcontext]

Oh... Hi Harry, didn't see you there. My... car broke down, would you be willing to give me a... jumpstart? 😉

[coasternerd]

Lighting Rod is probably the best coaster in the world. Rode it 5 times back in April and fell in love with the ride. But it is the best in the park. 1. Lighting Rod 2. Thunder Head 3. Tennessee Tornado

[hugomaffig]

PLEASE DO What is: valkyria it is a new ride in liseberg

[jtbackup]

What is: Lightning Rod

A Launched RMC Hybrid coaster that breaks down, all the time.

[Calakapepe]

And even in 2017.. the ride still has terrible reliability and sees TONS of downtime. Usually when it goes down, or doesn't open for the in the morning, it will eventually announce its closure for the rest of the day.

[Paolo]

Since the only RMC I've ridden is Steel Vengeance I cannot say with experiential authority how Lighting Rod compares to any other RMC coaster, be them wooden/Topper Track (considered wooden since technically most of the track is wooden); I-Box and/or Raptor track. However, I can go by what I prefer in coasters, and as far as the only 4 coasters RMC made that are wooden, I'd say Wildfire takes the 1st spot because of its length, duration and beauty, but riding both of those coasters might change my mind. 

When I 1st saw a back seat POV of Lightning Rod in the 1st season (when the launch lasted until the top of the lift hill rather than ending about 3/4 of the way up) I was convinced it must've been the roughest Topper track RMC due to its aggressive speed, type and layout. The fact that the launch on the lift hill became shortened makes me wonder if LR still reaches 73 MPH like is still being claimed. 

Until recently: I thought RMC Goliath at Six Flags Great America would have been my 2nd favourite wooden RMC after Wildfire, but it's so short. And yet: It's also true that while Outlaw Run is longer that Goliath, I've recently heard (and personally believe is probable) that Outlaw Run, being RMC's oldest wooden coaster, is now ROUGHER that Lightning Rod. My current opinion for the quality of wooden RMCs are 1): Wildfire; 2): Lightning Rod (top 3 woodies in U.S.A.); 3): Goliath and 4): Outlaw Run.

[jeffreylee]

so i have a question... what is the difference in track design (if there is one) between lightning rod and wildfire, besides the lifthill. If there isn't one, wouldn't lightning rod have 2 world records and 1 regular record. speed (73mph), height (206ft) and that its the only hyper wooden coaster operating today.

[archermav]

For your next channel anniversary (whenever that may be) do you think you could redo 'What is Nemesis' ? I think it would be a cool throwback and would show just how much your channel has progressed (don't delete the original though)